Let’s start controversial : 3d Printing firearms

Many of you must have already come across this documentary, or read it up in many blogs that are concerned about the fact. When I stated that 3D Printing provides limitless outcomes, good, bad and questionable, this is what I meant.

A group of libertarian activists in the U.S. plans to distribute open-source blueprints for homemade 3D-printed guns, provoking questions about the potential uses of the increasingly affordable technology.

Defense Distributed, the activist group led by Texas law student Cody Wilson, has just received $20,000 in funding for its Wiki Weapon project to create instruction kits for working guns. Individuals would be able to download the kits and use them to 3D-print their own weapons at home, sidestepping the need for a gun license.

“The old rules and regulations about who is the designer, who is the manufacturer and who is the distributor change when people have the tools and opportunities to become the designer, manufacturer and distributor themselves”

It is frightening for governments because it means the total dissemination of arms into a community. You know, you can basically print ammunition for an army, and this is very frightening.

This case is argumental in many ways ; some say it’s much better for everyone to own a gun, thereby reducing the act of violence as everyone can defend themselves and some say easy access to weapons only provides more cause for violence.

“Wilson promises that Defcad will focus on “the important things: not trinkets, not lawn gnomes, but the things that institutions and industries have an interest in keeping from us, things like access, medical devices, drugs, goods, guns.”

I’m on the fence here. I’ve had discussions with many people on this matter. ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people’, is a consistent point. In certain countries it’s quite normal to own guns, or to have guns passed through generations. A colleague of mine believes that, only city boys who play around with their dads guns get killed. He was born and raised in a farm, therefore, was taught how to use and handle a gun along with it’s consequences. But many aren’t born with that background, and the widespread internet paired with easy access to printable weapon plans mean it could be used by anyone.

Maybe in the sixties it was free love, but today it’s about free information.

Given that assembled guns/ weapons do not have to be registered, this could be accessed and used by anyone you know. I do not have to exaggerate on this point because you already know what’s going through my head and you yourself already have an opinion on that statement. Although I do believe it’s good to be able to defend yourself, my conclusion leans toward that of easy access to weapons lead to encouragement of unnecessary violence. Don’t make it normal.

I do recommend reading the original Dezeen article on this issue if you are interested as it discusses much broader outcomes and branches of this project and 3d printing technology. You can find it here.